Laying of hume pipes on Chabahil-Sankhu road started this week, a senior official of the Department of Roads said Tuesday.

This move follows widespread criticism of the pathetic condition of this section of the road for the last three years.

After widespread criticism of the pathetic condition of Chabahil-Sankhu road for three years, the government plans to asphalt the road leaving the disputed area.

The Department of Roads Central Regional Directorate (CRD) Director Shivahari Sapkota said, “We have started laying hume pipes on the both sides of the road. Asphalting of the road would start soon after the monsoons. If it stops raining we will start this work as well.”

According to CRD, crews are currently working on the 300-meter section from Hyatt Gate to Tusal and around 1,700-meter section from Tusal to Jorpati.

The 11.5-km Chabahil-Sankhu road expansion work was signed in October 2015. Kathmandu Valley Road Improvement Project (KVRIP) was to execute the project and complete it by December 2017.

Various issues have delayed the Chabahil-Sankhu road section.

House owners in the area against the demolition drive had filed a writ in the Supreme Court (SC) demanding a bigger amount as compensation.

KVRIP Chief Executive Officer Bhai Kaji Tiwari said, “It’s not possible to pay them the claimed amount because they built houses by encroaching the government’s land and government cannot afford to pay for land encroachers”.

The SC had issued a stay order on the government’s plan to demolish houses lying on the path of the road. The government’s failure to remove houses on the both sides of the road has delayed the road expansion work.

“The Prime Minister Office has informed us to resolve the problem. The SC has issued the stay order. We are only asphalting the road where houses are already removed.  Citizens will not have to face this problem next monsoon,” said Sapkota.

The KVRIP, which was initially responsible for the road expansion, could not carry out its work, because of the SC’s stay order.

Around 300 houses located within 12 meters from the centre of the road have to be demolished to expand the existing eight-meter road to 22 metres.

Commuters walk through muddy road that is virtually a pond during the monsoon. The underground drainage system is defunct. On sunny days, people face unbearable powdery dust while using the road.